Mirror of Time
by Steffie Black
Summary: A mysterious mirror allows Hermione to travel back and forth through time between her own time and the seventies. But what will she do when something that starts as a seemingly innocent way to continue her schooling ends up changing her whole world? Major
1. The Mirror

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. The idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (I don't know who made them).

Summary: A mysterious mirror allows Hermione to travel back and forth through time between her own time and the seventies. But what will she do when something that starts as a seemingly innocent way to continue her schooling ends up changing her whole world? Major HBP spoilers, follows HBP. Time-travel. Will probably become HGRL.

Mirror of Time

**Chapter 1 : The Mirror**

Hogwarts was completely deserted.

Even though it was the middle of September, the school was completely empty, except for the ghosts and some house-elves. They were the only ones, together with the portraits of course, left to talk to.

No more laughter from the students could be heard through the halls, no more reprimanding from agitated teachers, no more Filch or Mrs. Norris to chase children out of bed after curfew. Yes, even they had left the castle.

The grounds were almost equally deserted, no more excited Quidditch players, practicing for their next match, no more students relaxing under the trees or near the lake, after a long day of classes. Only Hagrid was still there, faithfully taking care of the grounds and the Forbidden Forest, the only part of Hogwarts grounds with still some evidence of life.

Hogwarts was deserted, closed down after a thousand years of providing education to young wizards and witches.

After Death Eaters had invaded the school last year, which ended in the death of the headmaster, the board of governors had decided it was best to close the school, at least until the war was over. Nobody was allowed to enter the grounds after that, except for Hagrid who had permission to take care of the grounds.

Recently, however, someone else had received permission, both from the board of governors and professor McGonagall, who had officially taken the job of Headmistress, even though the school was closed, to return to the castle and take residence in it for a while.

Hermione Granger had asked for permission to investigate the great Hogwarts library, the Room of Requirement with all the strange objects that happened to be stored there, the office of the late headmaster, Albus Dumbledore and the office of the one person who had betrayed them all, Severus Snape. Hermione hoped she could find out information about Voldemort and the Horcruxes he had hidden somewhere, searching for information that way was what she could do best and it was the best way she could think of to help Harry in his search.

Hermione couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. While she was relatively safe at Hogwarts, her best friends were somewhere out there, facing Death Eaters and the dangerous traps Voldemort had set up to defend the hidden parts of his soul.

But she knew that searching for more information was also an important job and so she had returned to the place where she had spend the majority of her time since she had found out she was a witch, over six years ago.

She had planned to stay here for four months, after which she would spend the holidays hopefully with her friends, and after that she would resume her search in the library of the Ministry. It would be four lonely months, with only Hagrid as the occasional company, but the half-giant had mostly closed himself off from the world after Dumbledore's death and Hermione wasn't too keen to try and get through to him. It were hard times for all of them and she couldn't afford losing too much time, every moment could count now.

Hermione took her residence in some guest chambers close to the library, but she decided to start her work in the Room of Requirement. Harry had told her about the place stacked with objects people had hidden during the course of the centuries, not only junk but also several dark items could be found there. Who knows what more the room could hide?

And thus it happened that Hermione Granger entered the Room of Requirement on one rainy day in mid-September and started to go through all the things stored there.

Three days passed by and Hermione didn't find anything remarkable or exceptionable. Most things had obviously belonged to students who didn't want to be caught with stuff that could get them into trouble, but none of these things could really be called dangerous. Once or twice, Hermione had come across illegal objects, but even they weren't really worth her attention.

It was on the morning of the fourth day, however, that Hermione came upon a very remarkable object.

At first, it had looked to like an ordinary mirror, only showing her reflection, but as she stepped closer to it, something changed.

Her reflection seemed to sway a little and became hazy. Little circles appeared across the surface of the mirror and grew in size, until they covered it fully. It looked to Hermione as if she had been watching her reflection in the lake and someone had thrown a stone into it.

As she watched, she could see something else appear in the mirror. It resembled the room where she was in, but a little less overstuffed and no one was standing there.

_What is this mirror and what's going on with it?_

Hermione scanned the frame, but the only inscription was made unreadable by all the dust it had accumulated. Against her better judgement, Hermione reached forwards to the mirror.

_If only I could read the inscription._

She hadn't planned to actually touch the surface, she only wanted to wipe the dust of the frame, but as she wiped her fingers across the frame, they slipped a little, and before she knew what had happened, she had touched the surface of the mirror anyway.

The next moment, she felt herself swirling and whirling around, as if she was trapped in a vortex and it seemed like she was sucked into the mirror. The last thing she saw before the mirror had sucked her in completely, was the inscription on its frame, now perfectly readable.

_**The Mirror of Time**_

000

A/N: Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other stories, but this story has been in my head for some time, and it really wanted to be written, so I figured I could just as well start it.

Please let me know what you think of this.


	2. Lily Evans

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. The idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (I don't know who made them).

Mirror of Time

**Chapter 2: Lily Evans**

From last chapter:

_The next moment, she felt herself swirling and whirling around, as if she was trapped in a vortex and it seemed like she was sucked into the mirror. The last thing she saw before the mirror had sucked her in completely, was the inscription on its frame, now perfectly readable._

_**The Mirror of Time**_

* * *

All of a sudden, Hermione felt herself stop swirling and the next moment her feet touched steady ground again. She looked around, confusedly taking in her surroundings. At her first glance, it seemed like she was still in the same place, a vast space, filled with discarded objects. But still something seemed different, somehow. After another, more careful glance around her, Hermione realised there were less objects than before she had touched the mirror.

_Now I think about it, it looks like the image I saw in the mirror when the surface was rippling._

Hermione kept standing there for another few moments, trying to figure out what had happened to her, but she couldn't reach a plausible answer. At last, she decided to give it a rest and go to the kitchens to eat something. _Maybe things will become clear later._

Still deep in thought, she wandered down the corridors, and thus not noticing the occasional sound of voices that could be heard in some corridors. That is, until she was stopped by another person who was wandering down the halls.

"Excuse me, but why aren't you wearing your school robes on an ordinary school day?"

Hermione jumped and faced the girl standing before her, totally bewildered as where she had come from.

"I'm sorry for startling you," the girl continued, "but as Head Girl, it is my job to look after other students." When Hermione didn't respond, but merely kept staring, the girl frowned. "Is something wrong? Can I help you?"

Finally, Hermione regained power over her speaking ability. "What are you doing here? Don't you know the school is closed? Who are you anyway?"

Hermione took a moment to take in the sight before her. A red-headed girl with startling green eyes, wearing Hogwarts robes with the Gryffindor colours and a Head Girl badge pinned on. Hermione's thoughts started to run in overdrive at that moment, after being completely void of her thinking abilities too, because of the shock of finding someone in the completely abandoned school.

_What is she doing here? How did she come here? Why is she wearing school robes and a Head Girl badge? Could she be a Death Eater in disguise?_

Her thoughts were interrupted as the girl answered her questions.

"What are you talking about? I can assure you the school is not closed. As for who I am, I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl this year. And may I know who _you_ are?"

It took Hermione some time before the words the girl had spoken sunk in, and then she could only stare at her for a few long moments. During this time, Hermione really took in the appearance of the other girl. Her vibrant red hair, which resembled the Weasleys', her sparkling green eyes were the exact same as Harry's, Hermione realised, now that she knew who the girl was. When Hermione had confirmed for herself this girl really was Lily Evans, she spoke the first words that appeared in her mind before she could stop herself.

"Lily Evans? But you're supposed to be dead!"

_Lily Evans. Harry's mother. But how is that possible? Unless…_

Hermione felt her eyes widen and her mouth almost drop when she reached the only possible explanation for what had happened.

_The mirror. It must have sent me back in time! Oh no, the Mirror of Time, that's what it means! It's a time portal! I'm in the past._

Only when that last thought took form and upon seeing the look of bewilderment and horror on Lily's face, Hermione realised what she had said. _Oh no…_

"Wha…What do you mean, I can't very well be death if I'm standing here talking to you, can I?" Lily wasn't someone to be easily scared, but when some complete stranger pops up out of nowhere and proclaims you are 'supposed to be dead', everyone would feel shaken.

Hermione stared at Lily, desperately trying to figure out what to say to set this right, but not finding anything. At last, she realised there would be no believable excuse she could say to make her words undone, the only thing she could do, was to tell the girl standing before her the truth, at least part of it, and hope for the best.

_But first we should find a place where we won't be disturbed._

Hermione took a breath and finally answered Lily as calmly as she could. "I'll explain everything to you, but let's first go some place more private."

Curiously, Lily followed the other girl, amazed as she realised a complete stranger appeared to know her way around the castle even better than herself, taking hidden passageways Lily didn't even know existed.

At last, they arrived back at the Room of Requirement, and Hermione asked for a private place where they wouldn't be disturbed or heard by anyone. She beckoned Lily into the room and closed the door behind them, but before Hermione could speak, Lily had already started.

"Are you going to tell me who you are now? Or I'll have to report you to Dumbledore. How come you know your way around here so well, when I've never seen you before?"

Hermione held up her hand, indicating Lily to be quiet, first she motioned Lily to sit down on one of the armchairs, which had appeared next to a blazing fire and around a small table with mugs filled with hot chocolate, then she sat down herself opposite the other girl, finally she started speaking.

"Firstly, my name is Hermione Granger and I know my way around this school, because I've been living here for more then six years."

"But," interrupted Lily her, "that's impossible, I've never seen you before or heard your name, and I'm pretty sure I know everyone in my year!"

Hermione sighed. "That's because I'm not really in your year." Lily frowned, but Hermione continued before the other could interrupt again. "It's true I should have been in my seventh year, but in fact I'm many years below you. I'm actually not even born yet now."

Lily's eyes grew big at this and Hermione took another deep breath before continuing.

"I'm from the future. I was investigating some curious objects in the Room of Requirement and I found a strange mirror, I accidentally touched it, and the next thing I remember, I was here. I hadn't planned to come here and if I had known I was in the past, I wouldn't have talked to anyone but tried to return right away."

Lily nodded in understanding, "I see, time-travel, that would explain a lot. Can I ask you a question?"

Hermione quickly shook her head. "No, you shouldn't ask me anything, I can't tell you anyway. Horrible things happen to people who meddle with time."

Lily sighed, "All right then. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to try and return right away. Please promise me you won't tell anyone about this, not even Dumbledore, not even J…your boyfriend."

Lily frowned. "I won't tell anyone. But I don't have a boyfriend, why would you say that?"

Hermione flushed. "Never mind. I should really go now."

She closed her eyes, thinking about the room where she had found the mirror, and the room around them started to change, a few moments later, they were in the storage room where she had started out this journey. It didn't take Hermione long to find her way to the mirror, where she could now clearly read on the frame the words _The Mirror of Time_.

Before Hermione could touch the mirror, Lily caught up to her. "Is this the mirror?"

Hermione nodded. Lily smiled, "All right then. Maybe I'll see you somewhere in the future." When Hermione looked away, Lily frowned, "Or not. How do I get out of here?"

Hermione quickly explained the way out to Lily and, making sure Lily wouldn't be able to ask any more questions, she hastily touched the ever swirling surface of the mirror. The next moment, Hermione felt herself once again being sucked into the mirror, swirling and whirling around.

000

When Hermione felt her feet touch the ground again, she opened her eyes and looked around her carefully. To her great relief, everything looked exactly as it had looked when she had left her time.

She left the Room of Requirement and walked swiftly through the school, scrutinizing every detail to make sure it was like it was supposed to be. If there was anything different, if she wasn't in her own time or if she had accidentally changed something, she would be in major trouble.

Finally she had reached her own rooms, where all her stuff still lay the way she had left them, she quickly pulled out her agenda and checked the date. September 17, 1997. Just like it had been when she had found the mirror. She was back.

With a sigh of relief, she let herself sink on her bed, deciding she had had enough excitement for quite some time. She wouldn't do anything for the next few hours, except reading and relaxing a bit. Pulling out a big volume she had brought with her from the library yesterday, she settled on her bed and started reading.

A few moments later, however, she was already interrupted, when a tapping on her window asked for her attention. Looking up, she recognised Hedwig, carrying a letter. Hermione quickly opened the window, allowing entrance to the owl. Hedwig dropped the letter on her bed and flew off, probably to take a nap in the now almost empty owl wing.

Hermione opened the letter and skimmed it quickly. Of course it came from Harry. Everything was all right, they hadn't found any more Horcruxes yet, Harry asked her if she had found out any more useful information (which she hadn't). He also apologised for not being able to be there for her birthday (which was in two days, on the 19th), and neither would Ron. Ron, by the way, sends his love, Harry wrote, and he promises to write soon himself. Hermione smiled, a week after Dumbledore's funeral, she and Ron had finally managed to express their feelings for each other and started dating.

Hermione decided she would reply to the letter later, since she didn't really have anything important to write. _Except for the mirror, but since I'm not going to use it anymore, it can't really be considered important._

She returned to her bed and her book.

000

_Please review…_

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter.


	3. A talk with Lily

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, the idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (Gibson Group/ Millennium Pictures co-production)

Mirror of Time

**Chapter 3: A talk with Lily**

Lily Evans didn't have a good day. After she had found that strange girl from the future, Hermione Granger, she hadn't been able to concentrate in any of her classes. She had even almost messed up a potion, something that hadn't ever happened before, luckily she had been able to save it just in time.

However hard she tried to forget what had happened that morning, some things Hermione had said kept repeating itself in her mind.

'_You're supposed to be dead.'_

'_Don't you know the school is closed?'_

The longer Lily thought about the words, the more she wanted to know what the girl had been talking about. She tried to remind herself of something else the girl had said: horrible things happen to those who meddle with time. _But_, Lily reasoned with herself, _it's not like I'm planning to change everything, I'm just curious what Hermione was talking about. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?_

After debating this over and over in her head during the course of the day, Lily decided to take her chance and return to the Room of Requirement. Maybe she could find out how to travel to the future and have a talk with that Hermione-girl. It would definitely be better than sitting here all day, trying to figure out what she could possibly have been talking about.

When classes finally finished, Lily tried to make a quick escape to the Room of Requirement, however, that wasn't what her friends had in mind. Normally, Lily Evans was a very attentive girl in class, on top of that, she was also a very popular girl, thus the fact that she hadn't been able to concentrate today didn't go unnoticed by several people.

As she exited the classroom, two friends of her, a short brunette girl and a taller girl with a dark complexion stopped her. "Lily, what's up with you? You've been having this faraway look in your eyes the whole day, most of the time it seemed like you weren't there at all."

Lily smiled at her friends, although inside she was rather frustrated. _Why can't they leave me alone, just this once? _"It's nothing, girls, there's just something I have to do right now, so we'll talk later, alright?"

Both girls grinned at her, "All right, later." And they turned and walked down the corner.

Lily turned around and went her own way, up a few sets of stairs and through corridors, until she reached the Room of Requirement. Thinking of the storage room, the door appeared quickly and it didn't take Lily long to find the mirror.

A moment later, she had gone through the mirror and found herself in the same room, but now the room was a bit more filled. Without paying much attention to her surroundings in here, Lily left the Room of Requirement and went in search of Hermione, although she had no idea how to find her. _I don't even know which house she belongs to. But while I'm here, at least I'm able to take a good look around._

Going through corridor after corridor, Lily concluded Hogwarts hadn't changed much from the time when she was going there, except for some new portraits. However, there was one big difference, and it changed everything, even the aura of the school itself. The whole school was empty, there was nobody walking the corridors, there was no noise, only a deep silence. _The silence of death. _Lily shivered as the thought crossed her mind. Obviously, the school had closed down, and being empty as it was, it had changed from being warm and homey to cold and creepy. _I hope I find Hermione soon._

Without noticing, Lily had reached the floor on which the library was situated.

000

Hermione woke up with a start. _Damn, I've fallen asleep, how long have I slept? _

She sat up on her bed and glanced at her watch. _4:30 P.M. already! I've slept through lunch, no wonder I'm hungry._ Hastily she stood up and straightened her clothes, before exiting her chambers to make her way to the kitchen and ask the house-elves to make her some food.

Yes, there were also still some house-elves in the castle, although Hermione only saw them when she went down to the kitchens. Almost half of the house-elves had insisted on staying in the castle to keep it clean until the school would open again.

As she turned the corridor towards the staircase, she saw something she hadn't expected. A girl was walking in her direction and picked up her pace when she saw Hermione. Hermione, however, stood petrified in shock, and only managed to say something when the other girl had reached her. "Lily, what are you doing here!"

"I couldn't stop thinking about what you said to me this morning and I needed to talk to you, or I might not be able to ever concentrate in class again."

Hermione sighed. "All right, let's go to my room." And she preceded Lily to her chambers. After they had settled themselves in armchairs and Hermione had made them some tea, they were sipping from their mugs in silence, not really knowing where to start. Finally, Hermione asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Lily looked up uncomfortably. "The school hasn't changed much since my time, but at the same time, it's completely different, the whole atmosphere had changed, as if something very dark has settled here and chased away all the good, it's creepy."

Hermione nodded, understanding what Lily meant, she had felt it too. _But some very dark things did happen during the last years, and with Dumbledore dying, many other good things has left too. So I suppose Lily is right about what happened._

Lily's voice broke through her thoughts. "What happened here, Hermione?"

Hermione didn't answer and Lily sighed slightly.

"I understand if you can't tell me that, but can you at least say _when _I am? How far in the future am I?"

Hermione frowned a bit. "I'm not sure I should tell you that."

"But obviously you know about me, since you said I'm supposed to be dead. How do you know me?"

Hermione shook her head. "I really shouldn't tell you."

"It's obvious the school has closed down, but you are still here. What happened that they made the school close? And why are you allowed to be here?"

Hermione felt tears starting to prickle her eyes. "I really, really can't tell you that."

But Lily had seen the other girl's eyes water, and she continued in a soft, understanding and kind voice. "It must be lonely, being here alone in the castle. I've walked through it only for a short time, and it gives me the creeps, this castle shouldn't be empty like it is, you shouldn't be alone. Everybody needs someone to talk to once in while, and you can talk to me, Hermione. Whatever it is, just talking about whatever is bothering you so much won't hurt, will it?"

It was getting really hard for Hermione to fight her tears. Here was someone ready to listen to her, someone who hadn't gone through everything that had happened the last two years. Someone who didn't clam up whenever someone mentioned Sirius or Dumbledore, like Harry did. Someone who didn't try to chance to subject all the time, like Ron did.

In a way, Lily was exact what Hermione needed right now, just someone to listen.

_But if I tell her about the future, won't it change the past?_

Sensing both her hesitation and her need, Lily came to sit next to Hermione and put an arm around her shoulder. "It's all right girl, you can talk to me. Just tell me the things you want to tell, besides, only telling won't change it from happening. I'm sure more is needed for that."

Finally, Hermione let down her defences and started telling Lily some of the things that had happened in her life lately, along with the answers on the question Lily had asked earlier.

"So many things happened, Lily, you have no idea. The school is closed down because, well, last June, Dumbledore was murdered and it seems like all our hope for the future has died with him." Lily gasped, staring in horror at the other girl once again, but Hermione continued, unable to stop now she had started pouring her heart out.

"Our only hope to defeat Voldemort is my best friend, Harry," Hermione carefully refrained from mentioning his last name, she didn't notice Lily didn't flinch hearing the most feared name ever in the Wizarding World, "he is supposed to be the 'Chosen One' and is now somewhere out there, together with my boyfriend, Ron, fighting Death Eaters. I'm here trying to find out information he could need, but I'm not even sure I will ever see them alive again."

She was now sobbing in Lily's shoulder. Lily was trying her best to comfort the crying girl, while attempting to comprehend what she had heard.

"Hermione, what year is it?"

"1997," came Hermione's whispered answer.

Lily gasped. "1997? I'm 21 years in the future and Voldemort's still not defeated?"

Hermione looked up, surprised, "You say his name, but most people are afraid to do so."

Lily shrugged, "You say it too, don't' you. It's like Dumbledore says, fear of a name only increases fear for the thing itself." Hermione nodded.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Lily's face, "I'm dead in this time, aren't I?"

Hermione looked very uncomfortable at this. "You shouldn't exactly know that and I'm not going to tell you what happened."

"All right. But if I'm dead, then how do you know me?"

Hermione sighed and stared down at her hands.

"Hermione?"

"I don't know you, I only know _of_ you, because…, because you are, were, whatever, my best friend's mother," she whispered.

Lily gasped and a long silence followed, while Lily was processing this information.

The irony of the situation suddenly struck Hermione. _Isn't it strange, sitting here talking in a completely deserted Hogwarts with Harry's mother, when seemingly all hope for the future is gone, I find a portal to the past. What would Harry say if he knew? _

After a very long time, Lily spoke again. "You know who his father is, don't you? You said something about my 'boyfriend' earlier and you seemed surprised when I told you I didn't have one."

"I'm not going to tell you who it is, Lily," Hermione interrupted the other girl, "I've told already too much and I can't risk stopping Harry from being born. I'm not going to tell you anything else."

Lily frowned, but nodded in understanding a moment later and another silence fell between the girls. Hermione broke it. "Thank you for listening, Lily, and once again, please don't repeat any of this to anyone."

"I won't."

"You should return to your own time now. And we shouldn't ever use the mirror again, it could be dangerous."

This time, Lily shook her head. "No Hermione. I agree on you for all your other precautions, but as long as only the two of us know about the mirror, I don't see any harm in using it from time to time. I think it would be actually a good thing if you used it, when you need someone to talk to, I'll be on the other side of the mirror."

Hermione still looked doubtful.

"Hermione, the mirror could give you some normalcy in your life, and Merlin knows, with everything that you told me is going on in this time, you could really use it. You can follow some classes if you want to, blend in with the students, have some fun. I can't begin to imagine how hard your life must be now, wouldn't it be a lot more bearable if you could leave it behind you from time to time?"

Hermione shrugged. "Probably, but I can't just barge into classes without permission, the teachers would wonder where I came from."

"Ask permission from Dumbledore, I'm sure he would understand it if you explained him your situation."

For a moment, Hermione just sat there, debating with herself. _This could be risky, if I'm not careful, I might change something in the past. But on the other hand, it would give me the chance to continue my schooling, I could still take my NEWTs and Lily is right, I could really use some normalcy. Besides, if I lay low and be very careful what I say, what can go wrong? This might be a good idea after all._

She looked back up to Lily. "Maybe you're right. I'll try it."

Lily smiled. "Everything will be all right, you'll see. Let's go talk to Dumbledore."

000

Please review… 

Thanks to Kristy Mac8 for informing me who produced 'Mirror Mirror' and for your review, and thanks to Evil Cat Hater for you review.


	4. To Dumbledore

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, the idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (Gibson Group/ Millennium Pictures co-production)

Mirror of Time

**Chapter 4: To Dumbledore**

When Hermione had left her room together with Lily, she already felt a bit better than she had since she had arrived in an empty Hogwarts. _This may indeed be just what I need._

The girls swiftly walked through the castle, to the Room of Requirement, passed through the mirror, where Lily let Hermione go first, in case the other would suddenly change her mind. Arriving in the seventies, they walked as inconspicuously as possible and in total silence to Dumbledore's office.

Soon they had reached the stone gargoyle which guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office. As Head Girl, Lily knew the password and they ascended the stairs. Lily decided it would be best if she went in first and introduced Hermione to the Headmaster. Thus, Lily went in first, Hermione standing behind her.

"Miss Evans, what can I do for you?"

"Professor, there is someone I think you should meet. I met her this morning and she would like to follow some classes here at the school."

Dumbledore lifted his eyebrows and nodded to Hermione to come forth.

"My name is Hermione Granger, sir. I…I'm from the future."

Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up even higher and although he didn't say anything, Hermione could read the questioning look in his eyes perfectly, as if he had asked it out loud. _How?_

"I have the task of investigating the objects stored in the Room of Requirement and I found a mirror there, it was called the Mirror of Time. I didn't mean to use it, but accidentally I did and it brought me here."

"I see." Dumbledore put his hands together and rested them against his chin in his characteristic thinking manner. "If you come from the future, then why would you want to follow classes in this time?"

Hermione took a deep breath. _I should have expected this question, but I can't tell him the whole reason. _Telling Lily what happened, even that she herself is dead, wasn't especially hard, Hermione had never known Harry's mother. Telling someone you had known and trusted for six years about what would happen to him in twenty some years, something she had witnessed only a short while ago, was a lot more difficult.

_I can't do this._

Suddenly, Hermione felt new tears prickle her eyes and she realised she hadn't been prepared at all to stand before Dumbledore again, after she had seen him dead and attended his funeral. _But this is the past, nothing has happened yet, so I mustn't cry._

Lily had noticed Hermione was having a hard time, and she had come to stand next to the other girl, putting an arm around her in comfort. Hermione smiled gratefully at Lily and, taking another breath and steeling herself, turned back to the headmaster.

"In my time, the school has closed down this year. I can't tell you exactly what happened, but you must understand that my time is very dark, maybe even darker than this time."

Dumbledore had seen the emotional torment in the girl's eyes and realised she had gone trough a lot, he quickly decided to not question her any further about the future. _It is not my place to know what will happen anyway._

"Very well, Miss Granger, but if you are in contact with people in this time, you will have to be very careful, I do believe you realise that. Other people shouldn't know about this."

Hermione nodded.

"And there might be another problem. If you follow classes here and you don't sleep in a dormitory, people will ask questions."

"Professor Dumbledore, I would like to sleep in my own time. I still have some work to do there, and it might happen I'll have to miss some classes."

Dumbledore nodded, watching Hermione carefully. "I was afraid so. May I ask you, who do you work for, in your time?"

Hermione cast a sideways glance to Lily, not sure the other girl should hear the answer, but she said it anyway. "The Order of the Phoenix."

For a moment, a look of surprise crossed the headmaster's face, but it quickly disappeared in his typical calm expression. "Very well, then it is important you can continue your work. We have to find an excuse why you don't sleep in the dormitories and why you arrived so suddenly."

It was Lily who spoke up now. "If I may, sir, we could tell the rest of the school her family was recently killed by Death Eaters. She was being home-schooled because her parents didn't want her to come here, because of the war. It was a terrible trauma for her, and she needs time and space for her own, besides, she has never shared a dormitory, thus why she has her own rooms."

Dumbledore smiled for the first time since they entered his office. "This is a very good back-ground story, Miss Evans, I think it should be enough for most of the school to leave miss Granger in peace." Lily smiled back, looking pleased with herself.

"Now, Miss Granger, I would like to know in which house you were sorted in your time, you can join classes with them, I will tell the school you were sorted in my office when you arrived here. Could you also inform me of the classes you would like to follow?"

"All right. I was in Gryffindor, sir, and I would like to follow the classes I followed last year, which were Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Potions."

"Good, I will take care of your schedule and you can join classes tomorrow."

"But how will I receive my schedule?"

It was Lily who answered instead of Dumbledore. "Since we will probably have all classes together, I'll wait for you near the Room of Requirement and we can go together, make the others believe I accompany you so you won't get lost. If professor Dumbledore gives me your schedule," she shot a glance at the headmaster to verify this, he nodded, "I'll give it to you then."

"Excellent." Dumbledore stood from his desk. "I believe this might work out just fine. But mind you, Miss Granger, be careful about what you say, and I do hope the students leave you be."

"I'll stand for her, Professor. If someone bothers her, they'll have me to answer to."

Dumbledore smiled. "Very good, Miss Evans, I knew I would be able to count on you." He waved his hand at them in a dismissing gesture. "Now, off you go. If there are any problems, don't hesitate to let me know."

Hermione and Lily left the headmaster's office and once outside Hermione heaved a sigh of relieve. "That actually went really well, thanks a lot Lily."

"No problem, Hermione. See you tomorrow." Lily waved and disappeared down the corridor, heading for Gryffindor Tower. Hermione smiled, returning to the Room of Requirement.

000

The next day, classes started for Hermione and she felt elated when she woke up.

She got herself ready for the day at record time and soon she was in the Room of Requirement, taking the portal to the past. Even though it was still early, Lily was already waiting for her new friend as Hermione stepped into the corridor.

"I thought you might come early. We can go to the classroom early, and I can tell you a few things about this time and the teachers and some of the students that are here, it might come in handy. I will also introduce you to my friends."

"All right."

They walked through corridors to their first class, which was Transfiguration. Hermione was grateful to have her first class with a teacher she knew. While walking, Lily started informing Hermione quietly.

"First we have transfiguration, professor McGonagall is strict, but at least she's fair."

Hermione smiled. "I know, I used to have her in my time too."

"Oh, all right. Who else did you have?"

"Flitwick, is Sprout here already?" Lily nodded, "And Slughorn."

"Really?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "He told me he would be retiring in a few years."

"He did, but Dumbledore convinced him to come back last year."

They had reached the classroom, McGonagall was already there, seemingly waiting for them, because she immediately called Hermione to her.

"Miss Granger, welcome here, or should I say, now." She threw Hermione a rare smile. "Professor Dumbledore told me where you come from, don't worry, I'm the only one of the staff who knows, because I'm Head of Gryffindor House and mostly because I'm a member of the Order too. From what I was told, you have gone through a lot and you will be very busy, if you should have any problems, with anything, don't hesitate to let me know. Otherwise, I expect from you the same effort in class as I expect from my other students."

Hermione nodded. "Of course, Professor, and thank you." McGonagall nodded and Hermione returned to Lily.

"Before class starts, I'll quickly inform you about some of our fellow students. First of all, watch out for Slytherins, but I take it you already know that." Hermione nodded.

"Second, watch out for the Marauders. They're Gryffindors and endless troublemakers. You should think they would have grown up by now, but I'm starting to doubt they ever will. Anyway, they are James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, I'll point them out to you. Remus is the most mature of them all and when the others aren't around, you could say I'm even friends with him. James is Head Boy and I still don't understand what Dumbledore was thinking. Sirius is the worst of them I think, and Peter is only trailing the others everywhere."

Hermione was doing her best not to laugh, it was quite funny, hearing Lily complaining about her future husband and his friends like this. Lily noticed the mirthful look on Hermione's face.

"What's so funny? Did you know them in your time?"

Hermione hesitated. _How much should I tell Lily? _"I know Remus Lupin, and I used to know Sirius." She smiled sadly. "I can't tell you more than that, Lily."

"Alright." But Lily had seen the sad look in the other girl's eyes, and she knew there was more to it than she let on, and whatever it was, it wasn't 'alright'.

The other students started to enter the classroom now. Two of them, a short brunette and a taller girl with dark skin approached Lily and Hermione.

"Hey girls," Lily greeted them, "Hermione, these are two good friends of mine, Mandy and Katherine, or shortly, Kathy. Girls, this is Hermione Granger, the new girl, Dumbledore asked me to show her around and make sure she doesn't get lost."

Hermione smiled at both girls. "Nice to meet you."

The girls smiled back and said their hello's and welcome's to Hermione and seated themselves right behind her and Lily afterwards. Hermione immediately liked Lily's friends. _They are a lot nicer than Lavender and Parvati._

This didn't mean Hermione thought Lavender and Parvati were horrible girls, but after Ron dated Lavender last year, Hermione couldn't help disliking her, and Parvati, because she always associated with Lavender.

The next moment, four boys entered the classroom, and Lily informed her they were the Marauders, but she didn't really have to, because Hermione had no trouble recognizing them. The first thing she noticed, of course, was how much James looked like Harry. _Or how much Harry looks like James, actually. _

The next thing she realised, was how much the others had changed in her own time, the third thing she noticed was how handsome Sirius looked and how charming Remus' smile was. _I could fall in love with that smile. _Hermione quickly shook her head. _What am I thinking, he's going to be my professor, besides, he belongs to Tonks, and I have Ron. Honestly!_

McGonagall closed the door and started the lesson and Hermione soon forgot about the Marauders, at least for the time being.

000

Morning classes passed by quickly. Hermione greatly enjoyed herself, being able to sit in a classroom again, although she refrained from putting her hand in the air like she used to do, trying to avoid too much attention of her fellow students.

Between classes she chatted with Lily, and quickly found out she got along really well with Harry's mother. _We could actually be great friends, it would be a nice change to have a girl friend, after always running around with Harry and Ron, they are great friends, but boys will be boys._

Lunchtime came quickly, and Lily asked Hermione to join her and her friends, Hermione gladly accepted the offer. During lunch, she didn't say much, but preferred listening to the conversations going on around her, enjoying the simple fact of seeing the Great Hall filled with students.

Near the end of lunch, a shadow suddenly fell upon her. Hermione turned and saw four boys standing behind her, the Marauders were watching her curiously. Hermione felt herself almost cringe, she wasn't sure she was ready to meet them already, especially Sirius, after all, it was only a bit more than a year ago since he had died.

Before anyone could say something, Lily spoke up. "What do you guys want?"

"Hold your hippogriffs, Evans, we're not here to bother you, all right." Before Sirius could continue, James elbowed him to shut him up and took over. "Hey Lily, I just thought, since I'm Head Boy, I should welcome our new student and that's the only reason I'm here."

The irritated look on Lily's face made place for a smile. "All right then. You're more considerate than I thought, James."

James looked offended for a moment, but quickly replaced it by a more neutral look and turned to Hermione.

"Hi, you must be the new girl. I'm James Potter, I'm Head Boy this year, if there is anything you might need, you can always ask me, or Lily, who is Head Girl, but I'm sure you already knew that." He chanced a look at Lily, who had crossed her arms and was looking a bit irritated again, James quickly turned back to Hermione, extending his hand. "Well then, welcome at Hogwarts and welcome to Gryffindor."

Hermione smiled, trying to stifle the giggles that tried to escape her. _If he's trying to impress Lily, he's having a very hard time. _Hermione took his hand and shook it, "Thank you, James, I'm Hermione Granger."

As they let go of each other's hands, James stepped aside and indicated the other Marauders. "I would also like to introduce you to my friends."

Of course, Sirius was the first to step forward. In one swift motion, he gave Hermione a slight bow, took her hand and gave a small kiss on the back of it and let it go again. "I'm Sirius Black, and it's always a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady."

Now, Hermione couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud. "You're such a charmer," she managed to answer between gasps of breath and laughter, "I'm sure you say that to every girl you meet."

For a moment, Sirius looked surprised, obviously this wasn't the answer he was used to or had expected. Then he flashed her another charming grin. "Now why would I tell you that?"

At this moment, Remus stepped forward, shaking his head and slightly pushing Sirius out of the way.

"Forgive him, he can't help being completely insane." ("Hey!" came Sirius' indignant protest, Remus ignored him) "I'm Remus Lupin. If you ever need help with anything related with school, I'm more likely to be able to help you than my friends, since I actually pay attention in class, unlike my friends." ("Why should we pay attention when we can just as easily copy your notes," came Sirius muttered response.)

Remus rolled his eyes, Hermione smiled at him, "I'll remember that, thanks, and nice to meet you." _Again. Very nice actually. I never knew how attractive and cute he was when he was younger. _Hermione quickly cleared her head. _I'm having impropriate thoughts about my former professor again._

Remus smiled at her one more time and stepped aside, allowing the last member of the group to step forwards, a chubby boy who didn't look at all like the man she had seen once at the end of her third year.

"Hi, I'm Peter Pettigrew," he said shyly, holding out his hand. For a moment, Hermione sat rooted to the spot. _This is the man who betrayed Harry's parents and sold them out to Voldemort_, she thought disgusted, and for a moment she wanted to just ignore him. But then she realised something. _But he hasn't gone to the dark side yet, and I have no idea what brought him to do it, I have no real reason to judge him. Maybe he isn't all that bad now, I should at least give him a chance. _With that thought in mind, she reached out and shook Peter's hand heartily, even managing to smile brightly at him. "Nice to meet you."

Before anything more could be said, lunchtime ended, and Lily dragged Hermione away from the Marauders and to their next class.

000

_Please review…_

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, as I've said on my profile, the new semester has started, and for the moment I don't have much time to write. But I promise I will try my best to update whenever I can.

Thank you everyone who reviewed.


	5. The Marauders

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, the idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (Gibson Group/ Millennium Pictures co-production)

Mirror of Time

**Chapter 5: The Marauders**

After classes had ended, Hermione declined Lily's offer to join her and her friends in the Gryffindor common room. She was tired after a day full of classes and meeting a lot of new people, together with people who she knew to be dead.

_This is harder than I thought to get used to, more so since I can travel between now and then. It might have been easier if I had just been stuck there without any way back, _a frown spread upon her face, _no, it wouldn't have been easier, at least I still have my friends in my own time, if I had been stuck in the past I wouldn't see them again._

When Hermione finally reached her own rooms, she let herself fall down on her bed, too tired to do anything else. _I'll continue my cleaning out of the Room of Requirement tomorrow, I'm just too tired now._

Soon, she was fast asleep.

000

That evening in the 7th year boys' dormitory in 1976, the Marauders were lounging on their beds, talking about the mysterious new girl that had arrived at the school.

"What do you guys think about the new girl?" James asked.

"She's surely a pretty one," came Sirius immediate answer.

Remus rolled his eyes. "The girl just lost her family, Sirius, give her some peace, the last thing she needs now is you going after her."

Sirius turned to Remus in surprise. "You want me to leave her alone? Why would you care so suddenly about who I 'go after'? Or maybe you want her for yourself, that must be it, our Moony has a crush!"

"Shut up, Padfoot, I only met her today, I just want you to leave her alone."

But Remus couldn't help the blush that heated up his face, it may be too early to speak about a crush, they _had _only just met, after all, but Remus couldn't deny to himself that he had felt some attraction to the new girl. This didn't go unnoticed by Sirius.

"All right, Moony, I'll leave her alone, she's all yours."

As an answer, a pillow flew his way and connected with his head.

Over the noises of indignation from Sirius, James managed to say, raising his voice, "Actually, I meant, don't you think there's something strange about her?"

"What do you mean, Prongs?"

"Actually, I noticed it too," answered Peter, "She's a Gryffindor, but she didn't come in the common room at all today, or yesterday, for that matter, and Dumbledore did say she arrived yesterday."

Remus frowned, "You're right, although she might have been in the library, catching up homework. But did you guys see her face when she first saw us in the Great Hall?"

"Yeah, she almost cringed upon seeing us," responded Peter.

"All right, that's strange, Evans probably warned her about us, but even she wouldn't go as far as to tell her things to make her fear us."

"Leave Lily out of this, Padfoot."

"Did Lily tell you anything about her, Prongs? They did seem to get along well." Remus asked thoughtfully.

James frowned. "Not really, she still tries to avoid me whenever possible, but I _am_ Head Boy, and I at least expected her to let me know about the new girl, but she didn't even say anything. That's what bothers me the most actually, that I wasn't informed. You know, she doesn't sleep in the girls' dormitory, she has her own rooms, but I don't know where. Only Lily knows, Dumbledore apparently asked her to keep an eye on the new girl. I have a feeling there is more to whatever happened to her than we were told."

"So, what do you propose we do, Prongs?"

James pulled out the Marauder's Map. "Let's start with finding out where she is right now and where she stays at night."

The other's gathered around him and they started searching the map. After a long time of silence, Remus uncomfortably broke the silence. "Has anyone found her yet?" Three voices answered in the negative.

"She isn't with Lily and her friends or in the library, or anywhere else in the castle."

"Maybe she's outside on the grounds."

"No, I checked the grounds, she isn't there either."

"But she has to be somewhere, hasn't she?"

The four Marauders looked up at each other, all of them equal looks of bewilderment on their faces.

"If she isn't anywhere on Hogwarts grounds, then where did she go?" Peter asked in a small voice.

"Wherever she is, there's something going on here that's very unusual." James answered.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

Everyone looked at Sirius. "We have to follow her tomorrow, to wherever she is going."

Remus frowned, "Spy on her? I'm not sure that's a good idea, there must be reasons for all this."

"Indeed, and I'm planning to find out exactly what it is." Sirius answered, an adventurous look in his eyes.

"You're right, we have to find out." James agreed, "How exactly are we going to follow her unnoticed?"

Suddenly, everyone looked in Peter's direction, who paled a bit. "Wha…What? Why are you looking at me?"

"Tomorrow, after classes, you're going to follow her in rat-form, Wormtail, and when you find out where she is going, come and get us." Sirius said.

"We'll follow you on the map." James added.

"All right." Peter agreed reluctantly.

000

The next day, classes seemed to pass by very slowly.

James and Sirius kept glancing at Hermione, trying to catch her doing something that could be considered as abnormal for a student. They made sure to walk right behind her and Lily in the corridors and even left their normal place during lunch to sit near the girls.

Remus had tried to reason with them a few times, telling them if Hermione had something to hide, she would make sure to act like everyone else and not give herself away, but he had given up after a while. _Why do I even bother, they never listen to reason anyway._

Meanwhile, Lily and Hermione had noticed the strange behaviour of the Marauders. At first, Lily hadn't thought much of it, James had been following her around on a regular basis for years, but then Hermione pointed out that Sirius too kept looking in their direction all the time.

"Maybe he fancies you." Lily joked. Hermione rolled her eyes laughing.

"Possibly, Sirius fancies almost every girl at one point in time." Hermione had heard enough stories and jokes about it during the summer she spent at Grimmauld Place.

Lily laughed too. "You're right, how do you know?" She glanced sideways at her new friend. Hermione smiled but didn't reply.

"Do you know him in your time?" Lily whispered then. Hermione's smile vanished immediately. "You know I can't answer any more of your questions."

"But what harm could it mean if you just tell me if you know him?"

Hermione sighed, feeling once again tears prickling in her eyes, but she willed them back. _It's not fair, there is so much I want to tell her. If I could, I would warn them all, but I can't risk changing everything, who knows what the consequences might be._

"Hermione, are you all right?"

She shook her head to clear it, deciding that answering this one question wouldn't really make a difference. "I knew him."

"Knew…What do you…" Lily paled a bit. "He's dead too, isn't he?"

Hermione bit her lip. _I've said too much again, if these things keep happening, I'll have to reconsider coming to the past. But it's not as if Lily is able to save him, or herself or James, for that matter. _

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you, I'm way too curious. I'll try to stop myself from now on." Lily was saying. Hermione nodded, but didn't say anything, she was grateful when lunch was over and classes started again.

Like the previous day, Lily invited Hermione to join her in the common room, but again Hermione declined.

"You'll have to make an appearance sometime, Hermione. People will get suspicious, as you pointed out yourself, the Marauders already are suspicious."

"I know, but I need to do a few things today and frankly, I still need to get used to all this 'following classes in the past', I promise I'll join you in a few days, Lily, give me some time."

"All right then, see you tomorrow."

The girls split up and Hermione made her way to the Room of Requirement. She did her best to walk fast and make it look like she knew where she was going, but at the same time, she made a lot of detours.

_The Marauders have been following me around all day, they might still follow me now and I can't risk having them find out where I come from._

Hermione of course knew all too well about the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. _I just hope they don't follow me on the Map, if so, then there's no way to outsmart them, I guess. And I can't keep running around here without purpose, people might notice, and it would be too suspicious. _

Finally, she reached the Room of Requirement, entered it quickly and closed the door as fast as possible. _Even a rat wouldn't be able to enter with me, that's the best I can do._

Hermione returned to her own time, quickly dropping off her school stuff in her own room and returning to cleaning out the Room.

000

Peter had been following Hermione all through Hogwarts, wondering what the hell this girl could be up to. Finally she had stopped in an empty corridor and started pacing around. It took Peter a moment to realise where they were and what she was doing and at that point, the Room had already opened. The girl closed the door so quickly that even the rat couldn't slip in. _But at least I know where she went._

Pleased with himself, although a bit confused over the strange behaviour of the girl, he returned to the boys' dormitory.

"So she went to Room of Requirement? Whatever could she be doing there?" Sirius wondered aloud, after Peter had told his friends what happened.

"Maybe that's the place where she is staying and nothing out of the ordinary is going on." Remus commented, from behind the book he was reading.

"I highly doubt she would be staying there, Moony, since there are enough other available rooms in the castle." James objected.

"From what Wormtail just told us, it seemed like she thought she was being followed."

"Of course she thought that, Padfoot, since we've only been following her around all day."

"Shut up, Moony."

"What strikes me, is that she obviously knows her way around in the castle, while she is supposed to have never been here before. You have to admit that's a bit strange." James said thoughtfully.

"There's something else," Peter piped up, "all the time I was following her, she never looked behind her. It was as if she knew who was following her, and she didn't expect to be able to see them."

"As if she knew about Wormtail or the Cloak."

Remus lowered his book, looking highly sceptical. "Come on now, Prongs, you can't truly believe she knows about that, when she has only been here for a few days."

"But she seems to know the castle like she's been here for years, Moony, don't tell me you don't think that's odd."

Remus sighed. "All right. I admit there's something going on here we don't understand. But there is probably a good reason why it is happening and why we don't know about it, so give it a rest."

James and Sirius rolled their eyes at the same moment.

"Always being the reasonable one, Moony, lighten up for once. What harm could it be if we just try to find out what she is doing in one of the most interesting rooms of the castle."

"Besides, as Head Boy, I think I have a right to know what's happening there, how else can I make sure she doesn't break the rules."

Remus raised one eyebrow. "Sure, Prongs, that's your main concern." He sighed. "All right then, but how exactly are you going to find out what she's doing there?"

For a moment, silence reigned in the dormitory.

"Well, I hadn't thought of that one, you can't just go to the Room and ask for whatever room Hermione Granger asked for, can you?" Sirius finally responded.

James shook his head. "No, the Room doesn't work that way, we've tried it before, remember?"

"Right."

"What if we ask for a gate?"

Everyone stared at Peter. "What?" At least two voices asked at the same time.

Peter blushed. "Well, uhm, I just thought, since we…we can't see her on the Map, it…it might mean she left the castle…and since she went into th-the Room…I supposed it c-could mean she went through s-some gate in the Room."

The other Marauders kept staring at a now beet-red Peter for another moment.

Sirius broke the silence. "Well, I suppose he has a point."

"But," Remus answered, frowning, "I thought the Room never showed itself on the Map."

"It does sometimes, when there's someone in there who doesn't care about being seen. But it's unplottable when there's no one inside or when people need it to be. That's probably the reason why we can't see her, she doesn't have to leave the castle to disappear off the Map." James answered.

"Does anyone have a better idea to get inside of the Room then?" Sirius asked.

"Well, if she doesn't leave the castle, but stays in there, it must mean she lives there, and I suppose you could ask for Hermione's rooms or something like that." Remus answered hesitantly.

The other Marauders nodded. "Let's go to the Room of Requirement then, and try out if we have found something that works." Sirius picked up the Map and was already half out of the dormitory before he had finished his sentence. James quickly pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and followed his friend, Peter hurried after them, and after a moment of hesitation, Remus decided he was actually quite curious too, and followed his friends.

000

_Please review…_

A/N: I'm really very sorry for making you all wait so long, I just don't have much time to write this right now, because I have a lot of papers to write. I'm working on my stories and I promise to post as often as possible. Right now I'm working on the next chapter of 'Hunted'.

Thanks to my reviewers, it's you who keep me going…


	6. The Marauders find out

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, the idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (Gibson Group/ Millennium Pictures co-production)

Mirror of Time 

**Chapter 6: The Marauders find out**

It wasn't easy to fit all of them under one Invisibility Cloak, but with Peter in rat-form, riding on one of their shoulders, they managed, although it took them quite some time before they reached the Room of Requirement.

The first thing they asked for, was Hermione's chambers, but after various ways of reformulating the question, even Remus had to admit the girl probably didn't live in the Room.

While trying to find a way into the room, they held an eye onto the Marauder's Map, partly to make sure Hermione hadn't left the Room and was somewhere else in the castle, and partly to make sure no one was coming.

They just wanted to try out Peter's gate-theory, when Remus warned someone was headed their way. Quickly they covered themselves with the Cloak.

A few moments later, Lily appeared in the hallway and paced back and forth for the Room to appear.

As the door appeared, James picked up Peter, who was in rat-form again, put him on the ground and gave him a little nudge towards the Room. This time, wile Lily was entering, Peter managed to get in with her unnoticed.

It didn't take long before the door to Room of Requirement opened again, and Peter beckoned them in. The Marauders looked around amazed, all wondering the same thing. _What could the new girl be doing in a room full of junk?_

"Where did she go, Wormtail?" James whispered.

Peter led the way to a mirror standing in the middle of all the other junk. His friends looked around them in confusion. "I saw her touching the surface of this mirror, and she just disappeared."

The others stared at him in bewilderment.

"What do you mean, disappeared?" James asked slowly, looking worried.

"Well, like I said, she touched the surface, and then it seemed like she was sucked into it."

Remus was studying the mirror closely now. "Look, the image in the mirror isn't what it is supposed to be. It seems to show the same room, but with more junk and without us in there."

All the Marauders were now looking into the mirror.

"I don't see Lily there either, or the new girl. Now you have to agree something odd is going on, Moony."

Remus sighed. "I never said this wasn't odd, Prongs, I just said this isn't our business."

"What would happen if we touch the surface of the mirror?" Sirius wondered aloud. Of course, reckless as he is, he immediately decided to try out, simply ignoring Remus' 'don't'.

The next moment, the other three Marauders could see Sirius standing inside the mirror, he waved at them, grinning cheekily, before the surface began whirling again. A moment later, Sirius was again standing next to them.

"Well, that was interesting."

"What happened, Padfoot?"

"It was kind of like Wormtail said, I was sucked into it. I ended up in the same room as this one, only with more junk and dustier."

"What could that mean?" Peter asked in a small voice. Nobody answered.

Suddenly, Remus pointed at the top of the frame of the mirror.

"There's something written there. Mirror of Time."

The boys looked at each other, trying to understand what this possibly could mean.

"Mirror of Time," James whispered before him, "Padfoot, you said it was dustier on the other side of the mirror."

Sirius nodded, before suddenly a look of comprehension appeared on his face. "Time, of course. Wormtail was right."

Peter looked dumbfounded. "I was?"

"It _is_ a gate. A _time _gate. The girl is from a different time." James answered, "Let's go then." And he made to enter the mirror.

"Wait." That was of course Remus, an apprehensive look on his face.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you're going to say we shouldn't go in there. For your information, Evans is already there too."

Remus gave a long-suffering sigh. "I was going to say it is a bad idea to meddle with time, but I know by now there's no way to stop you guys."

Sirius grinned. "A fast learner, you are, let's go then."

A moment later, the Marauders one by one went through the Mirror of Time.

000

Hermione looked up when the mirror started swirling and smiled when Lily appeared.

"Hey Lily, what's up?"

"You forgot this," Lily answered, handing Hermione a schoolbook. "You were in such a hurry to get back here that you left this on your desk, Kathy saw it and gave it to me, since we have class together tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, I'm going to put it back in my bag right away before I forget." Hermione left the Room of Requirement, Lily followed.

"Why are you really here, Lily? You could have given the book back to me tomorrow."

"Well, I just heard there's going to be a Hogsmeade trip next weekend, and I wanted to ask you to come with my friends and me. I think it would be good for you to just relax for a day."

Hermione didn't answer right away, and the girls walked in silence until they reached her rooms. She first put away her book, then sat down on the edge of her bed, while Lily took place in the armchair across from her. Hermione sighed before facing Lily.

"That's very kind of you, Lily, but I don't know if I should do it. My presence in the past might already be dangerous, if I'm also going to do other things than go to classes…" She trailed off, before continuing. "Besides, I still have work to do here," she sighed again. "I just don't know."

"Hermione, I'm sure that trying to blend in a bit with the rest of the school can't cause trouble, staying away from the other students is what's going to give problems."

There was a moment of silence, and Hermione just wanted to reply when she thought she heard something in the distance. Something that sounded suspiciously like voices. She stiffened for a moment.

Hermione threw a glance at Lily, and motioned her to stay silent. Then she walked to her dresser and pulled a battered piece of parchment out of it. She quickly returned to her place and pulled out her wand, while Lily approached the bed, curious for what the other girl was planning to do with an old piece of parchment.

Hermione pointed her wand to the middle of the parchment, and spoke quietly, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Lily looked up to Hermione in surprise, then looked back down and gasped as she saw lines appear on the parchment.

Suddenly, Hermione realised Lily didn't know about the Map or who made it, and she tried to cover it up. Lily eyed her suspiciously. "What is this?"

Hermione sighed. "It's a Map of Hogwarts." Lily looked confused, until Hermione elaborated, "It also shows who is where, everywhere in the school."

"That's useful, how did you get it?"

"From Harry, who got it from Ron's brothers, who stole it from Filch."

Lily laughed. "Your boyfriend's brothers seem to be troublemakers." Hermione smiled. "But then you don't know who made the map?" The smile disappeared, and Hermione made a feeble attempt to cover the Map completely for Lily, who was now trying to see what was on it.

Suddenly, Lily gasped and stared wide-eyed at Hermione. "Tell me I read wrong, tell me the Map isn't called the Marauder's Map." Hermione paled, realising only now she didn't only have to keep secret what was in the future for Lily, but also certain facts she knew about people in Lily's own time, which was even harder.

Lily was getting mad now. "I can't believe them. That's how they get away with all their tricks. They made a map of the school! Arrogant buggers. I can't _believe _Dumbledore made _him_ Head Boy, of all people."

"Lily…Lily!...Can you please stop ranting?" Hermione tried to stop the other girl's rant without much success, until she glanced at the Map and gave a gasp.

That attracted Lily's attention. "What's wrong?"

Hermione looked a bit pale and pointed at the Map, right out of her room were four dots, labelled with names they both knew all too well. "Oh no…" Hermione whispered.

Lily stared for a moment, before asking, "How did they get here? No, let me guess, the Map they made helped them." She sighed in frustration.

"I guess I have no other choice but to explain this to them, will you please let them in Lily?" Hermione asked, before quickly whispering 'Mischief managed' and hiding it under her pillow.

Lily nodded, walked to the door and opened it. "You might as well come in," she told their visitors, barely keeping herself from snapping at them.

One by one, the Marauders entered the room, first James, curiously looking around him, followed by Sirius, excitement shining in his eyes, then Remus who looked mostly worried and at last a totally bewildered Peter.

Hermione motioned them to sit down and when everyone had found a seat, the boys started firing questions at the poor girl all at once.

"In what time are we?"

"Why is the school empty?"

"Why do you come to our time?"

"Why is Lily involved?" (That was of course James.)

"Where is everybody?"

"What kind of mirror was that?"

The questions seemed to keep coming without end. Hermione had no idea how to stop them, she just sat there staring at them all in turn.

Lily saw her new friend's dilemma and decided to take matters in her own hands. Without further ado, she pulled out her wand, and with a whispered _silencio_, a very welcome silence returned to the room.

The boys turned to Lily in surprise, Sirius glaring. Lily looked over towards Hermione, who was taking a breath, trying to relax a bit. After a moment, Hermione nodded at the other girl, and Lily addressed the boys.

"Hermione will explain to you everything she can without disturbing the timeline. I'll take off the charm if you promise to not interrupt her and ask no questions, is that clear?"

James, Remus and Peter nodded, but Sirius only kept glaring, and she took off the silencing charm, except from Sirius.

"But first," Lily continued, "I want to know what you are doing here, when you are obviously not supposed to be here." She glared at James.

The boy frowned. "We followed you because we knew something was going on with her," he nodded his head in Hermione's direction, "As Head Boy, I believe I should know what's going on at the school."

Lily's glare turned even fiercer now. "You don't have to know everything, James Potter, there _is _a reason why you weren't let in on this!" James flinched a bit at her words, but then opened his mouth to retaliate.

Hermione, however, spoke first. "Please Lily, don't be so hard on him, he does have a point you know, as Head Boy." Lily turned to Hermione, but the tired look in the girl's eyes made her close her mouth.

Now, everyone turned to look at Hermione, ready to listen to her story.

Suddenly a little nervous, Hermione let her eyes travel over the Marauders, looking at her expectantly. _I really shouldn't tell them this, _her eyes fell on Peter_, and I certainly shouldn't tell him, he's a Death Eater in this time._ But she knew there was no way out now, Hermione took a deep breath and started talking.

"First of all, you cannot repeat what I'm going to say here to anyone, no matter what, do you all swear to that?"

The Marauders shared glances with each other, then returned their gaze to Hermione, all nodding at once, although a bit hesitant, they were too curious about what was going to come and none of them wanted to miss the girl's explanation.

"As you have already guessed, I'm from the future, we are currently in the year 1997."

Sirius opened his mouth to comment, before he realised he couldn't, thanks to Lily, for which Hermione was very grateful.

"You have also noticed the school is deserted, that's because it's closed down."

She held her hand up when James was about to say something, while Sirius opened his mouth for the second time.

"You probably want to know why, well,there's a good reason for it, since Death Eaters attacked the school at the end of the previous semester and they killed Dumbledore."

The Marauders gasped as one and paled considerably, no one tried to interrupt her this time. _There, that has shut them up_,Hermione thought grimly.

"In case you were wondering, the war is still going on, I've special permission to do some research here to help it end. By accident, I discovered the Mirror of Time, and since I should have been in my final year now, I got permission from Dumbledore in your time to follow classes there. I know you have a lot of questions right now, but I can't tell you anything more, so please don't ask questions."

It was true that all four Marauders had more questions about Hermione and her time than ever, but the shocking news they just received, together with the worn-out look, quelled them.

A moment of silence fell into the room, while the boys were digesting this information and Hermione was just staring blankly into space. Meanwhile, Lily took the silencing charm off of Sirius, and of course, he was the one to first break the silence.

Pointing at the window, he said, "You've got two owls waiting."

Hermione looked up and sure enough, Hedwig, who had returned to Harry when Hermione didn't write back, and Pig, Ron's tiny owl, were waiting on the windowsill, waiting for someone to let them in. Hermione stood up quickly and opened the window, and both owls landed on her desk, only now Hermione saw they were sporting a large package.

She freed the birds from it and opened the letter that accompanied it.

"What is it?" Lily asked quietly.

Hermione looked up, smiling. It was the first time she smiled since the Marauders had barged into her room, and it immediately relieved a big part of the tension in the room.

"It's from Harry and Ron, a birthday gift."

"It's your birthday today, and you didn't tell me?" Lily exclaimed, at the same time as Sirius asked who Harry and Ron were.

Hermione took the package and started opening it. "Yes, it's my birthday, Harry and Ron have been my best friends since first year and Ron is my boyfriend since a few weeks."

Concentrating in opening her present, Hermione didn't see the significant glances James and Sirius sent Remus' way, who rolled his eyes and shook his head at them, then he turned to Hermione, "Happy birthday, Hermione."

Hermione looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Remus."

Their eyes met and they gazed at each other for a moment, before Hermione returned to her gift, blushing slightly.

Remus walked towards a shelf filled with books, pretending to study them with interest, but not really seeing them at all. He had no idea what had just happened between them, but when their eyes had locked, his stomach had done a little flipping motion, and he just _knew _something special had transpired between them.

_That's just stupid, it probably meant nothing. All right, maybe Sirius is right, maybe I do have a little crush on her, but it doesn't mean anything. Nothing can come from it, honestly, she already has a boyfriend._ Remus quickly decided it best to forget about it and pretend nothing happened at all.

Meanwhile, the other Marauders and Lily were watching Hermione unpack her present, which turned out to be a box filled with candy, cookies baked especially for her by Mrs. Weasley and a book Hermione really wanted to have. But still the little incident didn't go entirely unnoticed, as Lily was sending occasional glances in Remus' direction, a pensive look on her face.

After having a good look at the contents of the package, Sirius jumped up. "I have a great idea. Since it's Hermione's birthday, let's have a party!"

James and Peter readily agreed, but before anything else could happen, Hermione spoke. "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? There's nobody to tell us off here, the castle is empty."

"Exactly, where were you planning to get any food and drinks? There's no way you're going into Hogsmeade here."

"We're going to get them in our time and bring them over here." James provided.

"That goes in against every possible law of time, you shouldn't even have come here in the first place, it could get us all in so much trouble."

The Marauders all started laughing at these words. "There's one thing you'll have to learn when you hang out with James and Sirius, they live for trouble, the more they can get in, the more appealing it is to do something." Remus told her.

Lily glared daggers at the four boys, and Hermione answered, "But you have no idea how dangerous this could be."

The boys only kept laughing, and Lily turned to Hermione, "You'd better give up, they won't listen anyway."

Finally, the laughter subsided, and James commented, "I think it's time for you to lighten up a bit, Hermione, and a party will be the perfect way to help you reach that goal. Let's get some necessities, guys." And he beckoned his friends out of the room.

Hermione was left alone with Lily, she sighed. _What have I gotten myself into? They have no idea about their future or what I have gone through, how can I lighten up?_

Lily broke through her thoughts. "Maybe they are right, you know, maybe this is just what you need. Don't ever tell any of them I said this, but I think it would be good for you to just relax a bit and have fun."

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then she smiled. "Maybe. All right, I'll try to have fun and forget about possible consequences."

000

_Please review…_

A/N: I'm really, really sorry for letting you all wait this long. Like I said, I've been very busy with papers and exams and stuff like that. But I've also had a writers' block for some time, for all my stories. I'm starting to get passed it, but if anyone has any ideas or tips that can help, I'll be very thankful.

Also remember, every review gives me more incentive to return to my writing…


	7. almost Ordinary days

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. The idea of the time-travel mirror was borrowed from the TV-series 'Mirror Mirror' (Gibson Group/ Millennium Pictures co-production)

Mirror of Time 

**Chapter 7: (almost) Ordinary days...**

It didn't take long for the Marauders to return and with them they brought enough butterbeer and snacks to last days.

Soon the party was in full swing, despite that there were only six of them in attendance and that it was being held in Hermione's quarters, which wasn't exactly the ideal place to host a party.

The Marauders recounted some of their adventures, alternating them with back-story on their professors and fellow-students, all of course from a Marauder's point of view. The stories were often accompanied with re-enactments of certain scenes, making Hermione laugh for the first time since... _I don't even remember when I really laughed for the last time, but it must have been before Dumbledore passed._

Meanwhile, Lily tried very hard to keep a disapproving look on her face, but when the boys finally managed to make Hermione laugh, she decided to put her disapproval for the Marauders aside for the time being and enjoy herself.

The party kept going deep into the night, until finally Lily announced it was time for them to return to 1976. Sirius started protesting immediately, but he was silenced by James.

"It's late. We all have classes tomorrow and it wouldn't do any good if one of the teachers started suspecting we were up to something tonight. I don't think Hermione wants them to know we found out about her secret."

Hermione threw James a grateful smile, while Lily stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. James smiled at them before ushering his friends out of the room and into the hallway. Lily followed, still looking a bit bewildered, but before closing the door she turned once more to Hermione.

"Good night, see you tomorrow."

Hermione's smile lingered as she cleaned up the mess the Marauders had left behind. _It's nice to have them around. Maybe them finding out about the Mirror isn't such a bad thing after all._

000

The following day Hermione joined her new friends in their common room for the first time. After classes, Lily dragged her all the way through the Fat Lady's portrait to hang out with the redhead and her friends, Mandy and Kathy, whom Hermione had met a few days earlier.

Hermione really liked Lily's friends, they were nice and accepted her immediately. Of course they asked a few questions about Hermione's supposed home-schooling and the death of her parents, but Lily dodged them by saying Hermione didn't feel comfortable with talking about it yet. The two girls understood and offered her their sympathies. After that they didn't bring up the subject anymore, for which Hermione was very grateful. She wouldn't have known how to make up sufficient, believable answers to all their questions.

The evening passed quickly and, for the first time in a very long while, Hermione felt more or less like a normal girl with normal friends. By the time the girls had decided to go to bed, they had invited her to go to Hogsmeade with them the next day.

000

On the morning of the Hogsmeade day, Hermione woke up early and in a surprisingly good mood.

She had received special permission from Dumbledore to go with her new friends and she found herself really looking forward to it. Hermione greatly enjoyed hanging out with Lily and her friends and the first part of the day passed quickly, but she had even more fun in the afternoon, which she spent with the Marauders.

She wondered if it was simply because she was used to constantly hanging out with boys, or because, with the Marauders around, and with their endless jokes and banter, you never had a chance to dwell on your problems.

_I could really get used to this._

They were all sitting in the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer, talking and laughing. _Even Lily seems to enjoy herself. _

The redhead had begrudgingly agreed to join them, claiming she didn't want Hermione to have to be alone with the boys.

Suddenly, Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice speaking her name. She looked up and met Remus' eyes.

"You seemed to be pretty far away in thought, since you didn't laugh at Sirius' last joke. Watch out or he might feel offended."

Sirius apparently heard this, judging by his undignified 'Oi!' and the glare he sent Remus' way. Hermione laughed.

"I was just thinking," she told Remus, "you all remind me a lot of my friends in my own time and yet, you're also a lot different."

"We do?"

"Yes. James and Sirius are actually a lot like Harry and Ron, although a bit more…I think exuberant is the right word here." Remus chuckled. Hermione smiled at him before continuing. "Peter reminds me a lot of Neville, someone in my year I used to help with homework often, but Peter's more part of the gang than Neville. And I suppose Lily is a lot like my friend Ginny."

"What about me?"

Hermione blinked. "Well, there isn't really anyone like you. You're special."

In the silence that fell between them, their eyes met. Hermione quickly looked down, fighting the blush she felt rise in her cheeks. _What did I just say? What if he takes it the wrong way? Come to think of, what did I actually _mean_ by saying it?_

Luckily, the awkward moment was broken by Peter, asking if Hogsmeade looked a lot different in her time than it did now. Hermione figured she couldn't do much wrong in telling them which shops had changed. What followed was a discussion about the merits and the downsides of the change in shops, which was in turn followed by a quite heated discussion between Hermione and Sirius about the Marauders being allowed to visit the shops in Hermione's time. Hermione was silently very thankful she didn't tell them about Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. _If Sirius hears about that one, he'll probably run straight for the Room of Requirement._

"But what if we make sure nobody sees us?" Sirius whined.

Hermione sighed and opened her mouth, ready to point out invisibility cloaks could easily get caught between doors or behind shelves, which would reveal them anyway, but she stopped herself just in time, realising the Marauders couldn't know she knew about the cloak. She wanted to keep it that way. It would be better for all of them if they didn't know how much she knew about them. Besides, Lily probably didn't know about the cloak either, and if she mentioned it now it might cause another argument between James and Lily, something Hermione would rather avoid as much as possible.

To Hermione's relief, James realized at the same moment what Sirius was hinting at and he poked his friend in the side, whispering something to him. Hermione was sure it was about being careful to not give away Marauders' secrets.

After that, the rest of their Hogsmeade trip passed by quite smoothly.

000

That evening Hermione agreed to join the Marauders and Lily in the Gryffindor Common Room. Remus sat in an armchair by the fire watching Hermione play a game of chess with Peter at a table nearby. James and Sirius were off to the kitchens in search of an evening-snack and Lily was sitting on the other side of the room chatting with her friends.

Now that he had nothing else to occupy his mind, Remus thought back to the conversation in the Three Broomsticks.

_She said I'm special. _

He felt his heart beat a bit faster at the memory and seeing her blush after she said it.

_No, she couldn't have meant it that way. _

For a moment, he wondered if maybe she knew about his _condition_, but he quickly dismissed that thought.

_I would have known if she knew; she would certainly have given away some clues, even if she tried to hide her knowledge. _And thus, the only explanation he could think of was his first one, although he couldn't quite believe it.

_Could she like me, maybe just a little bit, even though she already has a boyfriend?_

Remus knew nothing could come of it, but that didn't _really_ bother him. Just knowing she might like him made him feel happy.

_I think I like her too. I just have to make sure this doesn't grow into something more. It could only end badly…Someone getting hurt._

Still, Remus was sure nothing would come of it anyway, Hermione wouldn't be with them that much, or that long. _Which is definitely for the best. She's from the _future_ and time is something you're not supposed to mess with. _

000

In the days that followed, Hermione allowed Lily to drag her to the Gryffindor common room quite a few times. In fact, her initial protests started to wane and she found herself more and more in the company of her new friends.

Sometimes she spent time with Lily and her friends, but most of the time, it was just Lily. At least, it was _meant_ to be just Lily. She liked Mandy and Kathy well enough, but she was afraid they too might find out about her origins and Lily understood her reasoning.

But almost every time she was in the common room with Lily, the Marauders showed up and took their places around or next to the girls, to Lily's great annoyance.

Hermione, however, had to admit she didn't really mind the boys being there. She liked spending time with them. James and Sirius were always good at making her laugh and she needed that. She wanted to be able to forget about her problems sometimes.

She occasionally questioned their reasons for being there though.Hermione was sure they liked her well enough, but sometimes one of them would make an offhand comment about her past, as if they were trying to find out more about the future. It was subtle, for which she had to give them credit, she had never thought James or Sirius would be good at subtleties.

Still, Hermione didn't like their prying.

_But nothing can go wrong, as long as I don't give in and don't let anything slip by mistake. I just have to be very careful._

000

One Thursday, shortly after September had turned into October, they received so much homework that Hermione wanted to rush off to her own time immediately to do it. Lily, however, wouldn't hear of it.

"Why do you always do your homework there? You could just as well do it here and then you wouldn't be alone."

Hermione had no answer and it was, therefore, with relative ease that Lily convinced her to stay and study in the library together.

They had only been there for a short time when a shadow fell over their desk. When Hermione looked up, a group of students were watching her intently. She noticed the colour of their scarves and the crests on their uniforms.

_Great, Slytherins._

Lily had looked up too and narrowed her eyes. "Is there something we can help you with?" She kept her tone carefully polite, but cold.

The Slytherins ignored her, insinuating a 'mudblood' like her wasn't worth their time.

Hermione studied the group carefully. She felt like she recognized some of their faces, but couldn't place them. The only girl in the group took a step forwards.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger," she said, although her face told Hermione quite the opposite. The girl looked as if she thought herself above everyone else and, judging her face, there must be some very bad smell coming off the common people. "We want to show our respects for the loss of your parents and welcome you at Hogwarts."

The rest of the group grinned at Hermione and she shuddered involuntarily. _They may be trying to come off as nice, but they are giving me the creeps._

"Allow me to introduce myself," the girl continued. "My name is Narcissa Black. If you would like to hang out with us, be our guest. We can protect you, unlike this _mudblood_ scum." She gestured airily towards Lily."Or my blood-traiting cousin and his friends. They can only cause you more problems than you undoubtedly already have."

Hermione stared at the other girl for a moment, speechless, her anger quickly rising, but she forced herself to remain calm. Looking around the group once more, she began placing names to a few faces of the Slytherins, who were now sporting threatening looks.

_I think that's McNair. And that's the one who cursed me in the department of Mysteries, Dolohov I think is his name. Narcissa, Sirius' cousin and Malfoy's mother of course, and I bet the younger boy standing next to her is Sirius' brother. And…_

Hermione almost gasped as she recognised the face, along with the greasy hair, at the back of the group. _Snape, of course, how could I have forgotten he'd be here. _She had to force herself not to betray her thoughts as memories of the end of last year rushed back to her.

Hermione took a deep breath. _I have to be careful, they may be only students now, but I bet every single one of this group will soon become a Death Eater. _

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Black." She did her very best to sound polite. "But I think I'll have to decline your offer." Without saying anymore, she returned to her homework.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then a boy's voice spoke. "You will regret not accepting our offer. You'll see. Don't forget we gave you a chance at a greater future!"

Hermione could hear Narcissa's voice once more. "Hush, Regulus." Then the sound of footsteps.

When she looked up the Slytherins had disappeared. Hermione turned to Lily, who was glaring in the direction Hermione assumed the Slytherins had gone.

Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, muttering "Greater future, indeed."

Lily turned to her with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Those are all future Death Eaters," Hermione answered quietly, and paled instantly as she saw Lily, too, paling.

"And I shouldn't have said that. Please Lily, forget what I said."

"But…"

"No, please. You're a great friend, Lily, and I trust you, but this kind of information should be left unknown in this time, so forget it okay?" Hermione looked pleadingly at her new friend.

Lily sighed, deciding to let it go for now. "Okay. But can you at least explain to me why it's so important to not change anything and keep everything the way it happened in your time?"

Hermione nodded. "That I can do. There were certain circumstances which made me come to this time: the war, Dumbledore's death, Harry's destiny and even the simple fact of me getting my Hogwarts letter at age eleven. If I change any of all these circumstances, it could prevent me from coming into the past, which would make it impossible for me to change it in the first place. _Or_ I might make some change that somehow prevents my own birth. Something like that would create a time paradox, which could in itself even destroy the whole universe. That's why I have to be so careful."

Lily looked horrified. "I didn't know that. I'm sorry I kept asking questions. I promise I won't do it anymore and I will do anything to keep the Marauders off your back." She winked at Hermione, who smiled back. "Thanks."

At that moment, once again a shadow fell over their table and when the girls looked up, Remus was standing before them, looking a bit hesitant.

"Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if I might join you."

They smiled at him and Lily pushed aside a few of her books, so as to make place for Remus to sit and place his own books. The free space just happened to be next to Hermione, which Lily had done only partially on purpose.

000

Later that evening, Hermione was contemplating her day while she trying to fall asleep.

Her meeting with the Slytherins had shaken her quite a bit, and when she closed her eyes, she still saw the threatening looks they had sent her. _But I suppose as long as they don't find out who I really am, I don't have anything to worry about. It might be best though to keep as far away from them as possible, which I'd gladly do anyway._

She turned over on her other side and sighed, pushing away the thoughts about Death Eaters. They were soon replaced by much nicer thoughts of what happened afterwards.

_Lily was right to drag me to the library with her. It's nice to do homework together with friends. _She laughed quietly at numerous memories of trying to push Harry and Ron into doing their homework. _Well, it's nice to do homework with friends who don't try to copy from you and don't complain about the amount of homework. _

Hermione had to admit she had a great time in the library with Lily and Remus. Besides working, they had talked a lot and laughed a lot too, much to Madam Pince's annoyance.

_It's also very nice to have friends close-by with whom I can really talk and who can make me laugh, even if they are in another time. _They couldn't of course replace Harry and Ron, but in the very short time she had known them (at least in their own time, she had known Remus before of course), Hermione had started to get really attached to her new friends, even though she wouldn't admit it to herself.

Hermione truly treasured Lily's kindness and ongoing support and Remus' very own brand of humour and his quiet smiles, which could make her heart flutter (another thing she wouldn't ever admit). She loved how James' and Sirius' antics made her laugh and forget her worries. She even valued Peter's quiet presence. Hermione was almost shocked to admit she had even started to like talking to him.

_What in the world could ever have made him turn against his friends?_

With these thoughts in her head, she slowly drifted to sleep.

000

_Please review…_

A/N: This is the first chapter of this story that's actually been beta-ed, so I hope you liked this!  
Many special thanks to Lolamadrid for being such a wonderful beta and to R J Lupin's Kat for offering to beta this story too.


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